The inaugural edition of ICE North America (May 13-15 in Boston, MA, USA) is leading the pack when it comes to ROI, according to Michael Pollock, Managing Director of Spectrum Gaming Group. As sole Global Advisory Partners to the event, Pollock underlines a vital message for North American gaming professionals, provides tips for savvy attendees and explains the value of having so many viewpoints gathered in a single location.
Spectrum Gaming Group is the only Global Advisory Partner working with Clarion Gaming on ICE North America – what does this role entail?
Spectrum Gaming Group has worked with Clarion Gaming in areas ranging from providing insight into political and market trends, recommending speakers and identifying and assessing emerging geographic areas. Spectrum Gaming Group considers this to be a very fruitful relationship between organizations that share the common goal of identifying the necessary insights into gaming’s future.
What have you been working on with regards to the launch of ICE North America next month?
We have worked with Clarion Gaming in disseminating the word that ICE North America needs to be on the calendar for any professionals who seek to understand the future of gaming in the world’s largest gaming market. We have leveraged our contacts and our marketing channels to get that vitally important message across.
What are your short- and long-term aspirations for ICE North America?
The short- and long-term aspirations are identical: The ICE brand, and the commitment that Clarion Gaming puts behind it, send a clear message to the market that this is a must-attend event and we will continue to support that message and to provide any advice or other form of support to Clarion Gaming in both the short- and long-term.
From where you are sitting, what’s the response been like from North American facing gaming stakeholders?
The gaming calendar is admittedly quite crowded, so gaming professionals, including regulators, suppliers and investors, must choose carefully which events to attend to get the best return on their respective investments. Within that menu of options, ICE North America is clearly leading the pack. Since ICE North America is being held in Boston, let’s use a New England analogy to say that this conference is to gaming what the Boston Red Sox are to baseball: a perennial contender (notwithstanding the clear reality that the Red Sox are off to a rough start in 2019. Ask me that question again in September).
How important is it that Clarion Gaming has the ability to bring together all of the gaming verticals as well as the sports associations and federations together under one roof?
That ability is one reason why this conference is destined for success. Attending or exhibiting at a gaming conference requires the same calculation as any investment: What will be the likely return on that investment? Having so many viewpoints gathered in one location ensures that the ROI will be positive.
What, in your opinion, will gaming stakeholders gain from attending ICE North America?
My advice to all attendees is to get there early, stay late, wear comfortable shoes, carry an outsized number of business cards and take careful notes. Savvy attendees will gain insights that will help their own careers and bottom lines, but they have to be prepared for a packed few days.
ICE North America (May 13-15 in Boston, MA, USA) will bring together Clarion Gaming’s US assets, GiGse and ICE Sports Betting USA, with the addition of esports, iLottery and affiliate marketing streams, to create a single large-scale event. To find out more about ICE North America, go to icenorthamerica.com.
